Overcrowding

It's all relative...If you are trying to take a taxi ride( to or from) Red Hook to the airport you will experience traffic congestion that is as bad as "any urban area" in the states. This ride is now sometimes "twice as long" as it was only 10 years ago. So yes ...St Thomas is overcrowded. When you get out of the congested "central area" things get much better. But that can be said for St Louis, Milwaukee, and Cleveland too.

St Thomas is a small island. There are a limited number of roads. There is a whole bunch of cruise and holiday traffic. Without that traffic the economy would be negatively affected. But , yes, St Thomas is overcrowded. I sit in traffic jams at home I do not like to sit in a taxi in gridlock traffic on holiday. That is not why I go on vacation. St Croix on the other hand has very little traffic congestion. That's why it is my favorite...

There are a little over 50,000 people who live here. On a very busy cruise ship day in high season, there may be 15,000 cruise ship passangers and maybe 2,000 - 3,000 overnight visitors on St. Thomas. I doubt there is ever a time when more than 100,000 human bodies are on this rock.

And this rock is almost the exact same size as Manhattan.

Scott - overcrowded by the regular residents - no not overall however there are areas that are more densely populated then others. There are shoping areas that get traffic congestion when everyone is getting off of work, picking up and dropping off kids at school ect. When its high season and there are several ships in - yes there are areas particularly Havensight, Charlotte Amalie and routes to attractions and the attractions themselves that get quite busy, congested with residents, taxis, visitors ect. and overcrowded at times. And when there are say 7 or 8 ships in yes there are areas that are really a zoo and then when the ships pull out of the dock its back to normal until the next morning.

--Islander